In August 2014, current Harmony CFO Boipelo Lekubo was head-hunted for the CFO role at Atlatsa Resources Corporation. She considered it a good move since Atlatsa was listed on the Johannesburg, Toronto and New York stock exchanges, but admits it was rather intimidating going into the new position. She faced several challenges, including going concern issues because the operation was struggling to generate sufficient cash flows.
‘I was responsible for the financial well-being of the entity. We had to interact frequently with our colleagues in America on various complex issues, including compliance with the requirements of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). Our legal counsel was based in both New York and Canada, so the time differences were also an additional thing to consider given that platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams were not in common use at the time. We had to handle matters with people that we never saw and our discussions took place during abnormal working hours, which was a new experience for me.’
The operation was a joint venture with Anglo American Platinum which Boipelo describes as a kind of big brother they constantly had to approach with a begging bowl when they needed additional funding. ‘I experienced tremendous growth at Atlatsa. Soon after I left, the company was placed under care and maintenance, so I think it was admirable that we were able to stem that eventuality during my time there.’
Boipelo was involved in shutting down two operations and retrenching over 2 000 people, since they had to downsize and focus on core mining. ‘At the time, platinum prices were depressed and production at the mine was not optimal,’ Boipelo explains. Needless to say, the process of terminating jobs was not an easy task. ‘It is easy to look at an excel spreadsheet and say cut! cut! cut! But for every cut, there is a person with a family to support and therefore livelihoods are impacted by that decision. The human element is profound considering the mining operation was also pivotal to the community. For this reason, retrenchment has to be the last resort.’
Whereas the labour relations department of Atlatsa dealt with the workers unions, Boipelo had to be involved at some level to explain the numbers. ‘I remember this one time a trio comprising myself, the head of investor relations and the company secretary were dispatched to meet the union leaders at the mine in Limpopo. I cannot forget the leaders’ faces when three ladies walked into the room. Given local cultural perceptions, sending “a bunch of women” signified to them that management was not taking their concerns seriously. But we weathered the storm; we answered each of their questions adeptly and they eventually accepted the fact that there was no other option other than to restructure the mine.’
This article is an extract from the Masters of Money book by KC Rottok Chesaina (JONATHAN BALL PUBLISHERS)
